Teeth-chattering weather descended on Russia on Christmas Eve, with temperatures falling to -25C in Moscow and -35C in the remote region of Yakutia, as hundreds of thousands of believers are expected to attend Midnight Mass in the capital and elsewhere.

Believers in Jerusalem are also getting ready for a rare
"white Christmas," with snow predicted to fall on
Wednesday, and temperatures going down to +3C.

Those attending Midnight Mass in Moscow’s Christ the Savior
Cathedral, conducted by Patriarch Kirill, will have to wrap up
extra warm this Christmas.

January 7 is Christmas Day for Russian Christians, the Jerusalem
Orthodox Church, the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Georgian
Orthodox Church, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, as well as
for some Protestants who use the Julian calendar. According to
the Julian calendar, created under the reign of Julius Caesar in
45 BC, the holidays come thirteen days after the Christmas
festivities in the Catholic Church.

Although Russia is a secular state, nearly three-quarters of
Russians describe themselves as Orthodox believers. Up to 230,000
believers attended overnight celebrations in the 326 churches and
cathedrals last year in the Russian capital alone.

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church said in his Christmas
address that during these "holy days of Christmas" the
prayers of the whole Church, as well as his special prayer, is
for "peace on Ukrainian soil."

"Regardless of the place of residence of its children, their
political views or preferences, the Russian Orthodox Church
performs an important mission that Christ himself imposed (see.
Matt. 5: 9). It has always done and continues doing everything
possible to reconcile people and help them overcome the
consequences of feud," Patriarch Kirill stated.

Christmas in the Orthodox Church is traditionally preceded by
forty days of praying and fasting, during which the faithful
should refrain from eating meat and deny themselves any form of
entertainment. By learning to temper the body, one attains
spiritual perfection, believers hope.

A photo posted by kseniajacksa (@kseniajacksa) on Jan 1, 2015 at
8:21am PST

The Nativity Fast ends on January 6, after the first star is seen
in the evening sky, which symbolizes the Star of Bethlehem at the
time of Jesus' birth. According to the Gospel of Matthew, after
seeing the star, wise men from the east came to worship Christ
and brought gifts to him.

Christmas Eve begins with a special feast - “Holy Night
supper” - meant to end the period of fast. To symbolize the
twelve apostles, the meal features twelve meat and dairy-free
dishes. On Christmas Day, a church service known as “The
Feast of the Nativity” is held, followed by a festive meal,
which finally breaks the strict fast.

Tune in at RT for a LIVE broadcast of the Christmas Mass
from Christ the Savior Cathedral, starting at 2000 GMT January
6